KicKee's Everyday Heroes
Kyle Breunig, Fireman
What is your job title and responsibilities?
My job title is an Interior Firefighter. My responsibilities are to go into burning houses and buildings to find and put out the fires and if necessary, rescue any victims. Also, part of my responsibilities are performing rescues using the Jaws of Life on car accidents.
The work you do is incredibly impactful yet challenging. What do you feel is the most rewarding part of your career?
I would have to say the most rewarding part is being there and helping people during some of the worst points of their lives and giving them even the slightest bit of hope and reassurance.
Tell us a little bit about your most memorable day at work and why it stood out to you.
Every day is memorable, I cannot pick just one. Any day that ends with making a positive impact on a patient or victims’ situation is memorable.
What inspired you to be a firefighter? What continues to inspire you throughout your career?
I was inspired to become a firefighter because of my Dad. He was and still is an inspirational part of my career. As I mentioned above, helping others in times of dire need and making a positive impact on them is what inspires me to continue doing the job I love.
What is the most important thing you have learned throughout your career? Who did you learn it from?
The most important thing I have learned throughout my firefighting career is that life is so fragile and precious and can change for the worse (or better) in the blink of an eye, so cherish every little moment that you can! I learned this through all the people I have crossed paths helping with on calls, regardless of outcomes.
Others know the work you do is meaningful. We want to know why it’s meaningful to YOU!
I followed in my fathers’ footsteps and got to serve alongside him for the last 13 years and after every successful call, the feeling of helping someone at possibly the lowest point of life and knowing that I was hopefully able to bring a bit of hope and to them means everything. And also, the second family that I gained in the fire house, to be part of such a great, caring, and helpful group of people is amazing!
Monica Quaal, DNA Technical Leader
What is your job title and responsibilities?
I’m the DNA Technical Leader at a crime laboratory. I’m the technical supervisor of DNA which also does DNA Analysis. That means that we receive evidence from a variety of crimes and first look for biological fluids and/or collect possible touch DNA. I then take these sample through the DNA process to get DNA profiles. I compare the DNA profiles from evidence samples and compare to known DNA profiles.
What is the most important thing you have learned throughout your career? Who did you learn it from?
I remember working a large case early in my career and not getting DNA results that were being helpful to the case (I believe it was all DNA that was expected to be there). I would apologize for disappointing the detectives when giving the results and start on new samples. At one point, my sheriff Tony Mancuso pulled me aside to ask me for results. I hung my head and told him that I didn’t have anything helpful and apologized. I remember him looking me straight in the eyes and saying “Monica, you do your science. You can’t make something be there that isn’t. And no one here wants you to do that” There have been many cases with similar results since then, and I can’t help but flash back to that moment. I want to be able to help but in the end, the science is the science, and sometimes there are cases that DNA can’t help with. In the end, that means I can enjoy the cases that DNA can help with even more.
The work you do is incredibly impactful yet challenging. What do you feel is the most rewarding part of your career?
The most rewarding is when I work a case that could not have been solved without my doing the DNA. A homicide where they don’t know who the suspect is until I get a profile from the scene and can give them a name as a lead. Working a cold case that couldn’t have been solved when the crimes were committed but now with DNA, it is possible. I also enjoy the times I’ve helped on a case where the investigators thought it was one person but I was able to get DNA to point them in a totally different direction.
Tell us a little bit about your most memorable day at work and why it stood out to you.
We had a quadruple homicide in our area, which may have been the first on record, or at least is very rare. I was very new in my career and worked multiple days running samples to aid in the investigation. It was the first time I was able to show my passion for my job, which is one I’ve wanted to do since I was in middle school. Oh and when Forensic Files was filming was definitely memorable. Intimidating but memorable.
What inspired you to be in law enforcement? What continues to inspire you throughout your career?
I have always had a love of science and when I heard about forensic science when I was in middle school, I was immediately called to do it. Honestly it began with me wanting to be Dana Skully from XFiles but quickly transitioned to DNA. To be able to use science to aid in investigations is something no other career offered. I’m able to help in cases that might otherwise go unsolved or may convict the wrong person. I’m not out on the front lines but I’m able to help in a different way which I find so rewarding.
I think one of the best things about working in DNA is that it is constantly expanding its use. It started needing a large pool of blood and has transitioned to being able to make a picture based on the DNA at a scene and even identify family members like I’m the Golden State Killer case. It’s inspiring to think of what others have been able to do with DNA and I can’t help but be excited to see what the future holds.
Others know the work you do is meaningful. We want to know why it’s meaningful to YOU!
I hope I explained why enough above. But let me know if you want me to rephrase or dive deeper.
Was there a major turning point in your career that led you to where you are today?
I graduated from Michigan State in 2008 and soon later married my husband, Chad. I was working at the MSP Forensic Lab at the time without strong prospects for a good future professionally. Within a year after we got married, I applied for a job across the country in Louisiana. Chad was able to get a job at the sheriff's office and start the same day that I did. Our lives and our careers really started here. We have been blessed with opportunities by CPSO that have allowed both of us to accomplish so much in our careers.
Chad Quaal, Law Enforcement Sergeant
What is your job title and responsibilities?
I am a Sergeant in the enforcement division. This means I am a field supervisor and oversee day-to-day operations, evaluating subordinates, and making sure that people are doing the job the way they are trained. I try to lead by example in every way and will never ask a subordinate to do a task that I would not be willing to do myself.
What inspired you to be in law enforcement? What continues to inspire you throughout your career?
It is hard to explain what inspired me to be in law enforcement. It runs in the family so to speak. A single mother raised me. My grandfather was in law enforcement. He passed when I was young and was a father figure to me in more ways than he will ever know. I would always see pictures of him at work and go to F.O.P. cookouts and listen to him tell stories after he retired so I was always around law enforcement.
There is no question that recent times have been hard for law enforcement officers. I am inspired and continue to be inspired by the people I work with. It truly is a brotherhood/sisterhood and we go to work knowing that the people next to us would do anything to make sure that everyone is safe.
Why is the work you do meaningful to you?
I see more people at their worst than I do at their best, and being there to help come up with a solution to their problem is very rewarding. Enforcing the law is a great responsibility that has allowed me to help victims of a variety of crimes/circumstances. The work I do is meaningful to me because I get a chance to be part of the solution for people that cannot fight for or defend themselves such as children who are victims of abuse/neglect.